Her Last Death: A Memoir

Her Last Death: A Memoir (2008) by Susanna Sonnenberg. Sonnenberg's mother, Daphne, was the ultimate con artist, and she conned her daughter most of all. Daphne snorts cocaine in front of her daughter, and even gets Susanna to start using it by age twelve. Daphne speaks freely of her sexual exploits and expects Susanna to do the same. Daphne feigns illness any number of times, always something fatal, which later turns out to be a "mistake" on the part of doctors. So when Daphne is injured in an auto accident, Susanna at last makes the decision not to go to her mother's side, convinced that it will once again prove to be a fraud. Whether it does or not, we never find out, but after reading the harrowing story of Susanna's childhood and early adulthood, it scarcely matters. Grade: A